Synthesis of composite emulsions and complex foams with the use of microfluidic flow-focusing devices.

A method is described for the formation of stable, composite aqueous emulsions of 1) combinations of distinct families of bubbles of nitrogen, 2) combinations of distinct families of droplets of an organic fluid (either perfluoro(methyl)decalin or hexadecane), and 3) combinations of bubbles and droplets. A system of two or three microfluidic flow-focusing units is coupled to a single outlet channel. The composite emulsions can be precisely tuned, both in their composition and in the number fraction of components--either bubbles or droplets--of different types. The use of microfluidic technology, with closely coupled flow-focusing units, guarantees that the emulsions are mixed locally at a controlled local stoichiometry. The emulsions self-assemble in a nonequilibrium process to form a wide variety of highly organized periodic lattices.